Special to WorldTribune.com

Forces backed by Saudi-led coalition air strikes and loyal to Yemen’s exiled president, recaptured the nation’s largest military base from Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Aug. 3.

According to a commander of the fighters loyal to President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the forces captured the al-Anad base after heavy fighting in which dozens were killed or captured.

“The national army and the popular resistance have completed control of the al-Anad military and air base,” Brig. Gen. Fadel Hassan told Reuters. Hassan said his force was intent on next completing the “liberation” of the provinces of Lahej and Abyan.

The assault on the base began after new weapons, including armored vehicles that had been supplied by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, arrived to reinforce fighters. Al-Anad had been under siege for weeks by the Southern Resistance, an alliance of southern groups including secessionists seeking an independent south Yemen.

Seizing the base is seen as the second recent significant victory for the Hadi loyalists and Saudi coalition after the July capture of the southern port city of Aden. Hadi remains in exile in Saudi Arabia.

Yemen’s former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a Houthi ally, has said he wants Hadi tried for treason for enlisting Saudi help in the conflict.

“The fleeing Hadi committed high treason when he summoned Saudi and foreign intervention…He must be tried, must be transferred to the International Criminal Court for the crimes he committed, and this is what we are seeking.” Saleh said in remarks published on Aug. 3 by The Huffington Post.

  Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, al-Anad military base, Saudi-backed Yemeni forces recapture major military base, WorldTribune.com